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Lansons Talks Social Media Network Mapping

Today the second #PRstack book has launched; a practical guide for learning how to use some of the best social media tools on the market. It concludes what has become the largest crowd-sourced education effort in the history of PR. Written by 30 PR professionals who have put competitive differences behind them to contribute 44+ practical guides to upskill the industry. The tools work across public relations, content marketing, and search engine optimisation (SEO).

You can download a free digital version or purchase a printed copy here. The main PRstack website now includes a catalog of 250 PR tools.

One of those PR professionals who took part is in fact… me. My chapter (six), on “Using NodeXl and Gephi to map networks and influencers”, is about how to use social media network mapping to identify communities through social network connections.

It has huge practical real-world applications for mapping relevant stakeholders across digital environments; the chapter scratches the surface of what has become possible with social media network mapping. It joins a host of other chapters written by practitioners that together aim to make sense of the growing third party tool market.

As I wrote in my chapter, PRstack isn’t just a book or community about how-to guides. It is a cultural shift that invites innovation to the workflow of PR in the 21st century. A necessary step forward in a competitive industry where digital practice areas are contested and claimed by a range of agencies; resulting in boardroom budget battles. In the end everything leads back to open-source innovation, community discussion, and online reputation.

Stephen Waddington, who spearheads the project, explains:

“I’ve always been mildly envious of the cooperative spirit that exists in coding and SEO. Open source communities tackle issues that the industries are facing and aid learning and development.

They’re typically focussed on a single goal and operate outside existing industry structures. This enables them to move quickly.

It turns out that the public relations industry can also put aside competitive issues and open source. It’s how PRstack was created.”